The quest for sustainable agriculture

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Abstract

Since the Brundtland Commission on Environment and Development
published its report in 1983 the idea of sustainable development has become popular.
Although many definitions of sustainable development have been proposed, the concept
is not easily implemented in a world which believes that high rates of economic growth
are essential and in which economic systems are run on the basis of money flows in a
setting of private property. Environmental degradation is seen as external to the system.
The article discusses the concepts of technicism and economism as the dominant
features of Western culture, meaning that all problems can be solved by technical and
economic means. This is followed by an analysis of technicistic and economistic concepts
of sustainability. In order to develop a concept of sustainability that is not marred by
technicism and economism, key features of reformational philosophy, as represented
by D.H.Th. Vollenhoven are summarized, especially concepts of time. This leads to an
idea of sustainability that seeks to maintain the integrity of the kingdoms of things, plants and animals through a human culture inspired by wisdom and careful stewardship.